Hello,

Winter is coming up and it gets below freezing until march out here in Illinois, so I was wondering if anybody has installed a remote start on a series I. My car already takes a good 20min of light driving to get up to operating temp (halfway up the temp dial)and I can't decide if it needs a good warm up in the winter. Do you guys warm it up in winter? Any thoughts appreciated.

RM

 

I would not add any wires to the OEM system.

I would check the thermostat mine takes about one mile and its
as warm as it gets in summer, on the gauge.

 

20 minutes seems wayyy to long. Work is less then a mile away for me and mine is up there all ready 3/4 the way to work.

 

Replace the thermostat. Should be warm after only a mile of easy driving.
On really cold mornings just let it warm up for 10 min. or so.

 

Don't use a remote and don't let your engine idle, all you are doing is polutting your engine oil with all the rich fuel. I live in Colorado, I start up the truck, give my tranny at least 30 seconds to start pumping and go, driving will warm up the engine much quicker and cleaner.

 

If you are concerned after changing the T-stat, get an inline heater to go on your bottome radiator hose and plug it in at night.

 

My god, what a huge waste of gas! Plus, wouldn't you want to be out there to hear if there's a problem when you start the vehicle? Replace the tstat and give that a try. If you don't have heated seats, there are kits on Ebay where you could add a seat heater under the leather/frabic pretty easily. Cost is about $150.

Mark G

 

Thanks for all the great replies. I'll pretty much do what you all suggested: Give the tranny a few seconds, change the thermostat, and not let it idle.
Any special tips for the thermostat installation besides getting ready for a swim in coolant?
RM

 

not too much coolant comes out, just what's in the top hose. Just make sure you bleed the system properly and get the right type of coolant in. Might go ahead and change it out while you have the T-stat out.

 

I've heard people say use Dexcool, but would Zerex G-05 be ok? Its phos free and uses "organic acid technology". Not sure what OAT is but have heard it recommened on this forum.

RM